Improved railroad frog



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NQP. BOWLER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T O HYIMSELFyTHOMAS MAHER, WILLIAM BOWLER, AND J. W. LUNT, OF THE SAME PLACE.

Laim Patent No. 63,203, ma Marchv 26, '1861.`

'IMPROVED RAILROAD PROG.

To ALL WHO-M ITMAYooNcERN;

Be .it knownthat I,`N.P. BOWLER', of Gleveland,'in the county of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio,l1avev invented certain new and 'useful improvements in Railroad Frogs; andI do hereby 'declare that the following is a full and completel description of the same,-refernce being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in'whichl Figure 1 is a top view of an improved frog.

Figurer 'is aside view of the same.

Figure 3 is-a side view of the old-shaped frog.

Figure 4 isa top view of' a frog, with the chills'attached.

Figure 5 is a side View of the same. i

Like letters of reference refer to vlike parts in the several views.' l g i A, iig. 1', is the frog, of which B B are'the side'rails and C the central rail. D are ears, by which the frog is spiked to the cross-ties. 'E are chairs, bythe means of which the rails ofthe road are secured to .the frog; an end .view of the same is shown at F. Fig. Ztis a side view of the f1-og, in whichit will be seen that the face of the side railsA and centre rail is'perfectly level, Whereas the old frog is not, asis shown in iig. 3. In this Vfigure it will be observed that the inner end of the side rails-projects above the general surface of the frog, as

seen at G; and so -also does the pointed end of the central rail, as seen at H, producing thereby a downward curving of the tread of the rails. This curving of the rails is caused by the chills, in which the tread of the rail is cast, `by the sudden contraction lof the metal, in immediate contact with the chills, thereby throwing` up the ends,as above described. lThis curving of the rail does not take place when the softer or lower .grades of iron are usedfor thswork. It results only when the4 higher grades or'hard iron is used. lHence frogs have been usually made of soft iron, and faced withst'eel; and when used without being thus faced, as theysometimes are, they soon wear out, andl therefore 'become very expensive; and so, on using. the vhigher grades of iron for frogs, in consequence of the curving they offer projecting points,'aga inst which the passing wheels strike, which often results in the breaking of the frog, or its displacement, and frequentlyfth'e breaking of' the wheels, and thereby throw the car off the rails. In order to'obviate this curving of 4thefrog, when 'made of a. higher'gradeI of iron, so thatwhe'n it is cast-it will be straight, the pattern of the fr og is made to curve upward at the points x, so that theface of the rails of the pattern' at these points-is the -reverse of that vin the 'old nog, as showin iig.4 3. AThis fullness or nie mils is indicatedby the ione-d iii'ie I', iig, 5, in which-'it win be seen that the general surfacefof' the frog is rounded and .thus is providedia compensatorymeasure to meet .the curving of the frog when castiiln the chill, so that, when the frog 0I' the rails of the 'frog bend in the process of chilling, they shall bestraight whenco'ld, as shown in iig. 2. 'lhedepression of the additional thickness at the points x, making the tread of the rails perfectly level, also the. additional thickness', gives1 greater strength -to the frog; hence it is less liable to break; .and being made of a higher grade of'iron, will wear much longer than one made of a low-grade, and therefore'it is ,largelycheapen The chills in which the railsf are cast are shown in tig. 5, in which J is the chill of the centre rail, and -J the chills of the side rails. These chills are shown as being'placed upon the frog,A and the shape of which is such as vto conform to the upward curvingiof the rails, and will secure the tread of th'e rails the desired curvature, even if the rail on the pattern be without it. Hence it is found infpractice that the curvature of the pattern may be omitted if the chill be provided with it.

I ain aware that frogs have been 4made of cast iron, .with chilled treads; but those which have been made of a low grad-e are soft, and very soon wear out, whereas those made of a high grade are .'imperfect, in consequence of this springing in the manner as above described. Hence they are very-liable to break, and are therefore expensive. But that which distinguishes my invention is the making a frog of a high grade' of iron', so that when made the tread of the rail shall beias straight as a frog made of soft or .low grade of iron, and by this means obtain a frog that isdurable, and, as a consequence, cheaper than those made in theold way.

What I claim as my improvement. and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isf?- Making railroad frogs bythe method and in the manner substantially as specified.

' N. P. BOWLER. Witnesses:

FnnDK...A. BRAND,

J. P. McMAnAN. 

